First Plane Ride, Snow, & Trip to Colorado = Picture Overload :)

As Kendall and I crawled into our bed after safely arriving back home from our week long trip to Colorado, we literally gave each other a high-five and laughed at what we had just accomplished! =) So yes, we might be a little crazy for dragging two girls on two plane rides + a 3hr car trip to go skiing out west or as my dear husband says, It's just another one of our adventures-we're making memories! It seems that may be the way things go in our household-there is nothing impossible to undertake for the sake of travel in his world! I might just have a different opinion on this one being the mom =) We prayed on the way that God would give us complete grace towards one another that day and that if even if nothing went as planned, we would love one another well and aim to serve each other best we could! Feel free to skip over this little edition of our experience, but for the sake of documenting it, here goes: the day began on Sunday morning at 3am-I think we forgot this wasn't just the two of us traveling =) Obviously we weren't sure how the babies would do and whether this waking them up in the middle of the night would mean we needed to feed them, but determined to be a flexible mommy we just rolled with the flow.
All went smoothly-we snapped a quick picture of the car loaded down, got them strapped in, and off we headed for the airport. Arrived there with plenty of time to make it through our grueling TSA screening with twin babies and all that that entails (inspecting every drop of milk, baby food, medicine, etc) and made it to our gate with time to spare, after having repacked our 4 carry-ons. Fun fun! Tried my best to keep a smile on my face and be polite =) We arrived at the gate only to find out our flight had been delayed and then delayed again...for a total of 2 hrs. Again, there isn't much you can do about it so we took turns strolling them up and down the one hallway and then finally we boarded the plane and were on our way to our first stop: Dallas. If you have never contemplated what it is like trying to board a plane with two babies who cannot walk, trying to collapse a double stroller, and then safely carry said two babies with 4 carry-ons and jackets for the 4 of us, consider doing so. Hilarious mental images stored forever.
Only problem upon arriving in Dallas is now we had missed our connecting flight to Denver due to the delay. They were able to quickly get us switched to the next flight which just so happened to be leaving in 30 minutes. Sounds great except we have two babies diapers to change in addition to needing to pump in the restroom, feed solids to the girls, and repack the ice in our cooler of milk. Needless to say, not all of those tasks were accomplished and once again we boarded our 2nd flight rather disheveled to say the least! Thank goodness for kind souls who saw our need for help. I'm pretty sure jackets were on the floor and we probably looked like we were about to drop the babies in the aisle as we attempted to get our carry-ons stored properly in the overhead compartments. No pressure as everyone stares you down waiting to have an on-time departure. Who knew you could sweat when it's below 30 degrees!?! The girls BOTH did FANTASTIC on both flights and slept almost the whole way-we seriously could not have asked for more! A future flight couldn't go any better we decided. =) We touched down into Denver that afternoon and this momma couldn't get to the food court area fast enough-I had resorted to eating banana flavored puffs as we didn't have time to get any food in Dallas. I can't remember the last time I was that hungry. I think I ate more than any person should consume at one time but I didn't care, I was finally full. We then proceeded to the rental counter dragging all our luggage (way too cheap to pay $5 for a cart! =) In hindsight, should have probably just paid it, ha! And insert two babies who fell apart completely at this point-they were in new car seats that were way too big for them in addition to being told they now have a 3 hour drive ahead of them (ok so they didn't fully understand how long of a trip they had) but they didn't like the idea of being strapped in a new place. I think they cried harder than I have ever heard them cry which broke my heart! But needless to say, we made it safely to our humble abode: The Ritz Carlton in Beaver Creek =)!!!

I'll add a disclaimer here by saying if you know my husband, you know he loves to travel and you would also know that he finds the most amazing deals ever!! So that is how we landed ourselves in a five star resort for a few days before the rest of the family could join us and we proceeded to have THE BEST time as a family out there, enjoying God's beautiful creation! As Kendall says, who cares if we have the dungeon level room that overlooks the trash receptacles =) It did not, but we did wind our way quite a ways down the hallway to find our room and we are also not too good to build a peanut butter banana bagel for dinner that night just so we can afford to enjoy places like that!

The next two days were spent enjoying some delicious food in Beaver Creek Village, making s'mores by the blazing fire out by the slopes of the resort, snapping pictures of our two girls in the snow, and just relaxing (which doesn't happen a whole lot in the world of raising twins-not just two kids, but two BABIES! :)

We spent two nights there and then made the 2 hour trek to Steamboat Springs where we met up with the rest of the Currie Family. They were incredibly gracious and generous to take us skiing for the week and ski in/ski out made it possible for this mommy to come and go as the babies needed feeding. We had the absolute best time together and we thank his parents for being so giving of their resources for the sake of sweet memories that will last a lifetime! It's definitely never as much fun traveling home as it is coming, but like I said-we did it! With 8 month twins in tow and for us, another adventure had just been completed!

Santa! I know him!

8 Months-Oh My!

To my beautiful blue-eyed babies,
Today marks another milestone in your life-you are eight months old today! Each month that flies by brings such mixed emotions. The first being complete thankfulness and excitement that God has granted you another month of life and that He has so graciously given you good health and the ability to grow and develop on track! The other is complete nostalgia over the fact that you are growing up way too fast for our liking and we want so badly to freeze time right now and just hold you close! You both are an absolute delight and joy to your daddy and I! Our lives have taken on a whole new way of thinking and living and we think this perspective is drawing us closer to the heart of God. When we snuggle with you and smother you with hugs and kisses, we are keenly aware that there are children out there not receiving this same kind of love and affection and that breaks our hearts. We often think about what if it was you girls not receiving love and this brings us back to our knees praying for God to care for and love the fatherless in this world, and secondly, it urges us to move faster in this idea of adoption that is within our hearts. We love you both girls so deeply and are so thankful for every moment we are blessed to hold you in our arms. Never did we think we would be enamored with every little thing you girls do, but we find ourselves just playing with you girls and staring at you as you learn, discover, examine, and find delight in the tiniest of things! We don’t want to miss a single thing you girls do and we long to share every milestone with you both! We have been fervently praying for your hearts and pleading with the Lord to open your hearts at a young age for your desperate need for Him. Apart from Him, you can do nothing. We hope you desire a relationship with the Lord early on and that you grow in wisdom, knowledge, and love for your Maker! You are fearfully and wonderfully made and seeing you both growing and changing every day and watching your chests rise and fall while you are sleeping reminds us that God alone is making your precious hearts beat and God alone sustains your lives. To Him be all glory for the complete miracles you are! We love you both more than we can put into words and would lay down our lives for you in an instant. We pray you see a sacrificial love from us on a daily basis that models for you the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus for you! You are loved greatly by mommy and daddy but even more so by the Lord! We hope you always know that!

Love, Mommy and Daddy

Things you girls are up to these days:
• No teeth yet, but still drooling like all of them are going to come all at once =)
• Can transfer toys from one hand to another
• Move ALL over the rug/floor-Makenzie can scootch anywhere and Maddie Grace’s approach is more of inching backwards and around in a circle
• Still LOVE tags on ANYTHING-by far the thing that keeps you both preoccupied the longest
• Cry when we leave the room/aware of where we are
• Pincer grasp improving-can pick up things off bumbo tray and table
• Both sleep on tummy- for you Makenzie, the higher you can get your bottom in the air the better you sleep with your tiny legs tucked underneath you (quite possible the most precious thing ever!!)
• Both eating and sleeping well-Makenzie doing MUCH better!
• Haven’t made the transition to 4 feedings a day, still at 5 with two meals of solids-have tried bananas, avocados, peaches, sweet potatoes, squash, apples, peas, pears, carrots, rice and oatmeal; for breakfast-oatmeal & a fruit and for dinner-fruit and veggie
• Sitting up very well and love being able to see everything now
• Still laughing/giggling all the time
• Usually do great in the nursery or when watched by others-happy little girls!
• Love being with other people and babies-especially Makenzie
• Love grabbing paper, remotes, cell phones-we’ve swallowed some paper along the way =(
• Both stare and concentrate very intently on things
• Makenzie still gets startled easily/cries if someone yells or speaks loudly (especially over football, ha!)
• Love, love, love sitting in their high chairs and love banging on trays
• Struggle to get objects out of reach-will work very hard to get them!

Thankful Hearts

I've been thinking a lot lately about our circumstances and our perspective on eternity. I feel like we, as a church, do not desire the Lord's return as we should. We focus so much on now and how we are feeling/doing on a day-to-day basis. That is not what I desire for my heart and it is so easy for me to forget. My prayer this Thanksgiving and in the coming year is to anticipate my Savior's return and long for the day when I will see His face and worship Him forever. With that being said, this Thanksgiving I/we were overwhelmed with the goodness of God. We believe that God is good all the time and He is sovereign over all things, working things out for OUR good and HIS glory. It is easy to praise Him in the "spring" times of our life and more difficult to praise Him in the "winter." He deserves ALL glory and ALL praise EVERY moment of EVERY day. I pray God gives myself and my family that perspective and that He would enable us to do just that! Kendall and I feel infinitely blessed this season of our lives and know it is only by God's grace. We know the trials and storms are coming so we hold fast to the truth of God and know He alone will sustain us during those times as well. But until those times come, we will cherish, savor, and rejoice in what He has done in our lives and the fact that He has so graciously poured out one blessing after another to us! Our hearts are full and we are eternally THANKFUL!

Mommy's Birthday!

This year my birthday felt different. A good different. Two precious little ones staring up at me at 7am ready for the day. Two little mouths to feed all day and two little bottoms to wipe all day. Things don't suddenly get easier just because it's your birthday, BUT what a blessing. I was overwhelmed with complete gratitude this year for the blessing of two little girls that have been entrusted to us, but more than that a Savior that continues to love me, care for me, and pursue me day in and day out. I couldn't help but to think of all the comparisons that motherhood continues to teach me about the Father's love for His children. Things that without being a mom I would not have learned and I praise God for the way these things continue to mold me and make me more like Him. When I woke up today and thought about the daunting task of beginning a new day of taking care of TWO BABIES and doing virtually the same thing I did yesterday and the same thing I will, Lord willing, do tomorrow, I felt thankful. Thankful that the Lord had given me the desire of my heart for children and thankful for His grace and mercy that He so richly pours into my life day in and day out. What a memorable day and one I will never forget! Thank you sweet Jesus for the love you have for me that in turn enables me to love my girls well!

Another State to Add to the List =)

and our little family of four is on the road again...and this time to the great state of Mississippi-the girls 7th state in 7 months which means these girls' dad is a happy camper! (of course he would rather be using their passports, this will do!) Their daddy and my wonderful husband was asked to stand beside one of his best college friends on his wedding day so we loaded up the car in record time ( I believe it was < 30 minutes! :) and made the trek to Jackson the first weekend in November. We had a wonderful time celebrating their union of marriage and covenant before the Lord in addition to spending time catching up with old friends and enjoying life as a family of four. We seem to have really special time as a family when we are out of town-maybe it's because we don't feel any obligation to clean the house or work on any of our never ending to-do list. We praise God for the many trips we have had throughout this first year of the twins life for that means we have had sweet time loving on them with undistracted hearts, making this first year not seem like a blur! The memories have been endless and we give the Lord all the Glory for this season of life and blessing us immensely with these two, shall we say, bundles of joy!

7 Months! Time is Flying by TOO quickly!

Dear Sweet Pea and Lil’ Bit,

You are 7 months old today and the light of our lives! I’m so sorry you are having to celebrate this milestone with colds/fevers =) Makes your mommy feel so sad for you but lovin’ the extra cuddle time you both want as a result! It was about a year ago when we began telling people the Lord had blessed us with twins but we still didn’t know a thing about you, what you would look like or act like, or even that you were both girls. Boy were we in for a treat! We stand in awe of God’s goodness in our lives and that He has given us two little bundles of pure joy! Having you girls in our lives has taught us so much about the unconditional love of Jesus! The Lord has revealed so much to us about our hearts and lives as we raise you girls and we are so thankful that having children is sanctifying mommy and daddy’s hearts and lives in the process. It feels like yesterday that you girls were placed in my arms for the first time and what a feeling I will never forget. A feeling that until you are a parent, there are no words to describe. It was a new kind of love we had never encountered or experienced until you girls arrived. You were here, alive and breathing, and just perfect! We will never forget what it felt like to hold your tiny, fragile 3lbs 5 oz and 4 lbs 7 oz. bodies and then to attempt to pass you off to each other with such care each time, worrying we were going to break you! Thankfully, by God’s sheer mercy, you are both still thriving and growing like crazy! And for that, we give God all the glory and praise! You both are indeed fearfully and wonderfully made! This has been such a fun month for us to see you both continue to let your personalities shine! Maddie Grace, you are just a cutie pie, happy and content 99.9% of the time if you are fed and you just go with the flow. Whenever we pick you up, you throw your arms behind you which is hilarious to us and can’t be comfortable =) Makenzie, you are still a ball of energy, spunky & dramatic at times, but you keep us in stitches with your looks, smiles, and fun loving personality! Your most recent discovery is your tongue and we just can’t get you to put it back in your mouth for the life of us! =) You love to let it dangle out and stick it in and out constantly! We just crack up watching you girls interact and discover your surroundings. Your reactions to food and new toys are always so different, reminding us how unique you both are as individuals. No two days are ever the same at our house I feel like these days! Every time I think we are in a routine (which is so nice!) one of you decides to change it up on me. Life is an adventure for us for sure each day, but one I am so thankful to be a part of! We love you girls more and more each day and thank God for the blessing of children and the privilege of passing on the Gospel to the next generation! Thanks for making our days and nights crazy, but much more joyous and complete! We love you both dearly!

Love, Mommy and Daddy

Things you girls are up to these days:
-LOVE tags on things!
-Almost sitting up on your own
-very curious; observe/inspect all new things
-when playing with toys, Maddie Grace, you will stick with one toy and be content playing for a while whereas your sister Makenzie loves to switch toys every couple minutes =)
-love reading books and turning the pages/touching the books
-love textures and things that crunch, making noises, scratching chairs/sofas
-obsessed with touching faces
-like pulling buttons on shirts/grabbing earrings
-love grabbing feet and putting in mouth and really grabbing anything in sight
-really enjoying solids-have tried bananas, avocados, sweet potatoes, carrots, pears-love mealtime (MG especially! You go wild when it’s time to eat and you both sit in your bumbo at the table with us every night! Quite a sight!
-Makenzie loves sleeping on tummy with bottom in the air-no matter how hard we try to get you to sleep on your back, you flip within seconds! Maddie Grace rolls to sleep on her side with her thumb in =)
-still no teeth yet-but drooling like crazy still!
-use your paci’s to chew on these days rather than sucking-especially Makenzie who puts in her mouth backwards!
-Daddy’s girls-LOVE playtime with him each night when he gets home from work! (Especially you Maddie Grace! You are enamored with your daddy and will strain your neck to stare at him wherever he is! It is precious!)
-enjoy singing and doing motions
-rolling in every direction
-still spitting bubbles and have started doing it with food in your mouth-yuck!
-very ticklish! We get the best laughs from you girls all the time!
-hate not being able to reach things that are far away
-still gnawing on everything and putting everything in mouth
-we think responding to your names =)
-can see us from far away
-cry when we leave the room
-still enjoy being cuddled (both of you!) which I love!
-MG eating around 5-6 oz. 5 times a day and pull on your ear when nursing and run your fingers through mommy’s hair- sleeping 10-11 hrs every night and weigh 16 lbs 1.5 oz; Makenzie still up in the air-we try to get in 24 oz. but feedings are more spread out through the day-not sleeping well still, waking up often! =( You are still a little squirt weighing in at 13 lbs 10.5 oz

First Halloween

What a fun, memory-filled day Halloween was for both the girls and Kendall and I! I'm not sure who had more fun today-mommy or the girls! =) Having recently gotten over some colds, I wasn't sure how many festivities the girls would be up for participating in, but we hit the ground running on Monday morning when they woke up with big smiles on their face! I had researched all the things going on in Birmingham and made our list of things to do in between all of their naps and feeding schedule! We quickly headed out to the Galleria with the two cutest cows in tow. Chick-Fil-A was having free carousel rides and pictures with the cow for every lunch purchase made.
Not hard to complete that task-I grabbed a Kids Meal and then very cautiously gathered up two fluffy bundles and headed for the sleigh on the carousel. What was I thinking?? I thought the ride would never end and I stumbled off with two girls filled with the wonderful feeling of nauseousness. Took me right back to the long weeks of pregnancy induced sickness and I was very quickly reminded of how thankful I am to be past that stage!! But hey, the girls have now officially ridden their first carousel and on Halloween, no less!

From there, we left the Galleria and headed to the Hoover Public Library for some trick or treating at each circulation desk. The girls fell fast asleep and mommy enjoyed gathering up "2" pieces, one for each girl of course, at each stop! =)

We left there, came home and got the girls fed and rested before the grand finale! At 6:00ish, we met up with some other families in our small group and had an absolute ball making our way through the neighborhood for the girls first real "trick-or-treating" experience! It was so exhilarating, but my arms were quite sore after toting our heaviest daughter from house to house! Maddie Grace was filled with excitement as she reached into the bowls and picked up candy and attempted to eat it. We had a little chat about how she wasn't quite old enough for candy but later she could have some bananas as a treat instead! =) Makenzie was rather calm which surprised us. They switched up their personalities on us for the night.
But really, we thoroughly enjoyed our time with friends, visiting with all our neighbors, and experiencing another "first" with our precious girls! Needless to say, they were plum worn out from our fun-filled day!

The Faces I Love...

A little R & R in Playa Del Carmen

We're back again and what a refreshing time that was to spend some R & R with the hubby! We had some airline credit that was going to expire so we jetted off for one more getaway sans babies and headed to Playa Del Carmen, Mexico to celebrate a belated 3rd year anniversary! We had never tried out the all-inclusive thing so we gave that a shot (will prob be our last time doing that-not all that impressed :) and then we moved ourselves to Mayakoba (an incredibly beautiful, luxurious area in Playa Del Carmen) and stayed at the Fairmont for two nights! The grounds were incredible, the service was phenomenal and every restaurant we ate at, the food was delicious! We seriously had the best time together and just enjoyed the time we had together to catch up and have undistracted and uninterrupted conversation! You could have placed us anywhere and we would have had a blast, but Mexico wasn't too shabby! We said long before kids were in our world that we would invest in one another always and put our marriage first. These two weekends away from the girls, while not easy for a momma's heart, sure did re-energize us and remind us how important it is that the Lord comes first, then spouse, then children. God ordained it to be that way and we must fight to keep them in that order! Not always easy to do with little ones in the picture. One thing I knew the day I got married and remains even truer today is that I am one blessed wife to be married to such an incredible man!

"Early Birds" Storytime

I have an extreme obsession with children's books and that is probably an understatement! It is so hard for me to not buy every new kids book out there and add to our collection. I guess you could say the teacher in me wants to start them out early LOVING to read. So it's usually a part of each of our days where we sit down and do the best we can at getting through a few stories together but when I saw this opportunity at the Hoover library I couldn't resist! Each Tuesday morning, we load up the car for their "Early Birds" program where Ms. Polly captures the attention of both of my girls through her read alouds, songs, chants, and rhymes! (that's quite a feat in my book!) The girls are completely in awe of her singing and the puppets/animals that she incorporates into her story telling. Makes this mom grin seeing their faces light up and their legs start kicking! We love our time there each week and to top it off we come home with a nicely laminated song/rhyme card to add to our collection-now that speaks my language =)